Tina Chhabra has been named the American College of Clinical Pharmacy/American Society of Health-System Pharmacists/Virginia Commonwealth University Congressional Healthcare Policy Fellow for 2018–2019.

Pharmacists selected for this Fellow position have the opportunity to gain real-world insight into health care policy analysis and development through immersion in the congressional environment. Fellows are actively mentored in legislative evaluation, policy development, research, and writing while integrating practical experience with theory.

Chhabra is currently a fellow in regulatory sciences and safety and benefit-risk management at Biogen Inc., a biotech firm based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, through the MCPHS University Biopharmaceutical Industry Fellowship Program. She holds a bachelor’s degree in political science from Virginia Commonwealth University and a Pharm.D. degree, also from VCU.

The daughter of a physician in the Washington, D.C., area, Chhabra spent her youth among “the incessant bleeping” of hospitals and doctors’ offices, she recalls. While working at her first job as a receptionist in her father’s office, she says, “I learned that health care was equally scientific and political, and that access to a doctor was very important – but [that] not everyone could afford it.”

This connection between politics and health care continued. Chhabra competed in science fairs and excelled in her math and science courses while volunteering as secretary-general of her high school’s model United Nations. Later, her fellowship with Biogen gave her an opportunity to do a rotation with the company’s policy and government affairs teams, which led to participating in Capitol Hill hearings on topics such as the opioid crisis and drug pricing.

As a result of these experiences, Chhabra pursued the ACCP/ASHP/VCU Congressional Healthcare Policy fellowship. She reflects,

I am passionate about health care policy and have a profound desire to make a difference. I believe health care is a right, but I also realize the solutions to the problems that consume our system are nuanced and complex.… [And] I strongly believe that there are not enough scientists and clinicians making the decisions that shape health care.

Amee D. Mistry, associate professor of pharmacy practice at MCPHS University, called Chhabra a standout among her peers for her energy, communications skills, and determination to make a difference: “She has proven, on a number of occasions, to be an extremely focused, dedicated, and passionate pharmacist.”

The policies on which Chhabra would like to focus revolve around access to health care, medication accessibility, and health disparities. She says she intends to use her fellowship as a route to eventually work on policy as part of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration or the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.

The 2018–2019 Congressional Healthcare Policy Fellow program will begin July 9. Chhabra will spend 1 week at the Brookings Institution and 3 weeks each with ACCP's and ASHP's government affairs offices. Finally, she will embark on her placement within a congressional office or on congressional committee staff in Washington through August 2019.

The fellowship program, now directed by VCU School of Pharmacy Associate Professor Kristin Zimmerman, was founded 11 years ago under the leadership of Professor Gary R. Matzke.

For more about the ACCP/ASHP/VCU Congressional Healthcare Policy Fellow program, click here or contact director John McGlew at [email protected].